Homer, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Shakespeare, and
Tolstoy; Curie, Darwin, Einstein, Galileo, and Newton.
What do these world-famous artists and scientists have
in common?- apart from the fact that their achievements
predate our own time by a century or more. Most of us
would probably answer: all ten possessed something we
call genius, which in each instance permanently changed
the way that humanity perceived the world. But pressed
to be more precise, we find it remarkably hard to define
genius. Genius is highly individual and unique, of
course, yet it shares a compelling, inevitable quality
for professionals and the general public alike. Darwin's
ideas are still required reading for every working
biologist; they continue to generate fresh thinking and
experiments around the world. So do Einstein's theories
among physicists. Shakespeare's plays and Mozart's
melodies and harmonies continue to move people in
languages and cultures far removed from their native
England and Austria. Contemporary 'geniuses' may come
and go, but the idea of genius will not let go of
us.Genius is the name we give to a quality of work that
transcends fashion, celebrity, fame, and reputation: the
opposite of a period piece. Somehow, genius abolishes
both the time and the place of its origin. This Very
Short Introduction uses the life and work of familiar
geniuses-and some less familiar-to illuminate both the
individual and the general aspects of genius. In
particular: the roles of talent, heredity, parenting,
education, training, hard work, intelligence,
personality, mental illness, inspiration, eureka
moments, and luck, in the making of genius. |
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